Bully Ray Explains How Bryan Danielson Helped Hangman Page In 60-Minute Match
Bully Ray believes Bryan Danielson played a pivotal role in getting his match with Hangman Page to the one-hour mark.
On the Dec. 15 Winter is Coming special episode of AEW Dynamite, Page put his AEW World Heavyweight Championship on the line against Danielson. The title match opened up Dynamite and fans got even more than they bargained for.
A winner wasn’t determined as the match went to a 60-minute draw. It is widely considered to be a late contender for Match of the Year.
It’s no secret that Bryan Danielson is world-class but Bully Ray believes “The American Dragon” has an ability that very few possess.
On Busted Open Radio, Bully explained how Danielson’s “phantom gear” helped bring Hangman Page to the finish line.
“I think the props to Hangman is the fact that he was able to keep up with Danielson. I can just hear the AEW fans now, ‘Oh, what is Bully Ray talking about?’ Bryan Danielson has what’s called the phantom gear.
“The phantom gear was invented by Kurt Angle. It’s this sixth gear that very, very, very few have. It’s the ability to go deep into a match where most guys are blown to the gills and then go faster.
“Go smarter, go harder, go everything, and Danielson has it. There were times in that match where I saw Hangman, he needed to take an extra breath which is totally fine. He’s in deep water with Danielson once you get past that half-hour mark and now you got another half-hour to go.
“If you’re not used to that it’s brutal, brutal! It’s brutal on the mind first because you know you’re breathing heavy and I’m not saying that Hangman was breathing heavy, I’m just saying he needed to get a breath.
“You looked at Danielson and he looked fresh as a daisy. Danielson, smart worker, allows Hangman to get that breath, takes Hangman, boom hits that next gear. Allowing Hangman to take that extra breath allows Hangman to hang with him in that next gear.”
Hangman has already had some classics under the AEW banner. His title victory over Kenny Omega at Full Gear back in November was highly praised.
There was also the tag team title match featuring Page and Omega vs. The Young Bucks at Revolution back in Feb. 2020, which garnered a slew of praise.
As for Danielson, he’s been on quite the run. Since entering AEW, he’s had some certified bangers with the likes of Omega, Minoru Suzuki, Eddie Kingston, Page, and more.
